PropTech and Blockchain Property study tour – London and Barcelona

During 2018, our property students followed local and global start-ups, app builders and established property firms in their race to create new and innovative technology products and services.

In January 2019, fifteen RMIT University postgraduate students attended our inaugural PropTech and Blockchain study tour, travelling to London and Barcelona.

London took us to the Geovation Hub (https://geovation.uk/), in the tech start up district of London, where we heard that Geovation has become a leading proponent of the value of open innovation in the public sector. As an accelerator, Geovation provides chosen start-ups with up to £20,000 in grant funding, access to data, experienced product development capabilities, as well as geospatial expertise from Ordnance Survey and land and property insight from HM Land Registry. This, together with business mentorship and coaching, has assisted start-ups to prepare for presenting to investors. To date, the accelerator has supported 79 property related technology start-ups, which has seen some £20M raised in investment funding.

Students at RICS, London. Photo courtesy Rebecca Leshinsky

We also visited the offices of Colliers and were shown their latest technology which streamlines the preparation of automated valuation reports. The London leg ended with an insightful tour by Australian Superannuation of the Kings Cross station redevelopment district, rich with innovative and sustainable buildings, and spaces.

King’s Cross redevelopment precinct in numbers

67 acres
50 new buildings
1,900 new homes
20 new streets
10 new public parks and squares
26 acres of open space
30,000 people by 2016

Source: https://www.kingscross.co.uk/the-story-so-far

At the PropTech and Blockchain meeting, RMIT Europe, Barcleona, January 2019. Photo courtesy Rebecca Leshinsky

We then flew to Barcelona, where we started with a walking tour, visiting many beautiful and historic sites, ending up at the RMIT Europe offices, which is located in the smart city innovation hub. Students were informed about the “super blocks”, where they learnt how the city is taking back streets from vehicles (https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/may/17/superblocks-rescue-barcelona-spain-plan-give-streets-back-residents).

Outside RMIT Europe, Barcelona innovation district 22@. Photo courtesy Rebecca Leshinsky

Our time in Barcelona concluded with a world class two day PropTech and Blockchain meeting. On the first day, students sat in global industry presentations, and heard from PropTech leaders such as PEXA  (www.pexa.com.au), Open Box (www.openboxsoftware.com), as well as RICS (www.rics.org ), learning about innovative products and services, many that rely on blockchain technologies, as well as what is the current state of play in the property profession. On the second day of the meeting, we heard from international academics on how blockchain technologies are being used in the built environment in property recording and registration, land transfers and leasing, construction, and disaster management. The meeting was a huge success, and excellent learning experience for students. A second follow up meeting is now scheduled for Cyprus at the end of October 2019, where the School of PCPM staff, together with global stakeholders will discuss how land recording can be effective in developing nations. Both AI and blockchain are important for this sector, and we will be introducing these technologies into our courses in both undergraduate and graduate courses in 2019.

Written by:

Dr Rebecca Leshinsky, Senior Lecturer, PCPM

Dr Judith Callanan, Associate Dean, PCPM